Pages

Archive for October 30th, 2011

Someone has just read JR‘s latest entry and asked him why he is doing this to himself. The person who asked has a point. I usually enjoy translating, and I admitted that I’m not enjoying it in this case. Besides, while I’m doing this to myself, I see other interesting articles in Chinese floating by without recovering them.

I haven’t found a full translation or account of the 17th central committee’s cultural reform decision elsewhere on the internet yet, and just as in my first translation installment, I might abstract a number of the original’s paragraphs again when doing part four, and all those following bits, provided that I’m leaving nothing important out.

But I’m not wasting my time either way.

After all, I’m curious. If even the CCP website, which is usually very proud of all the party’s hard ideological work, doesn’t bother to publish an English version, I’ll need to read the Chinese original. That takes time anyway, so I might as well translate it.

But above all, I believe that this document will have a noticeable effect on China’s future. Many foreigners*), even with a strong interest in China, won’t take note of the “cultural reform” document – they probably won’t take note of party congresses either.

Unless, that is, a party congress seems to prove their point that “they” – the Chinese – become “more like us”. When Deng Xiaoping started advocating “reform and opening”, and when the party adopted economic reform policies known as the Four Modernizations, foreign observers were all ears. When Gustav Amann note in the 1920s that the foreigners saw nothing but what they could attribute to their own influence on the Manchu government, he had made an observation that wasn’t really spectacular, but one which described a lasting pattern of foreign, or certainly European, perception of China. Just as it was back then, most published foreign observation seems to be based on conceit, or wishful thinking. China may be modernizing, but if it is up to the CCP – there is little reason to believe that it will be up to any Dangwais (within or without the United Front) -, there will be no individual human rights.

This has an effect on competition between China’s and Western political systems, too. The CCP’s emphasis on social efficiency points into that direction – there will be no individual human rights on the one hand, but a lot of – possibly very successful – harnessing of “the people’s productive power” on the other.

That won’t mean a lot in terms of “culture”. The CCP might as well scrap everything in its CCP plenary session document which relates to “soft power” – the CCP’s soft power is as attractive as athlete’s foot. But in terms of economic planning, social efficiency can mean a lot. Advanced democratic societies should take note. It doesn’t take “soft power” to be influential – hard power and a long-term strategy can do the job for the CCP, too.

There is some awareness in Europe that Chinese help in solving the euro zone debt crisis may not come without “strings attached”. But when Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former French prime minister, suggests that

we cannot go it alone. China has taken over the baton and become banker to the world. That’s the new deal of the 21st century,

it seems to suggest that even the political strings don’t matter to European politicians.

European relations with Taiwan – it’s a rather shabby protocol already – may suffer further. Speaking out on human rights, and be it only for some self-respect? Umm…

Maybe European politicians haven’t taken note of the political side – and quite possibly, their “rescue plan” is built on wishful thinking anyway.

One can only hope that Raffarin is one of the worst examples – but given the matter of course in which European leaders are trying to raise Chinese funding, I’m not exactly sure about that. Anyway:

The CCP’s 17th central committee announced a decision on cultural reform earlier this month; the Chinese media began reporting on the – then still unknown – document soon after, and it was published in full early this week. The following is part 3 of my translation of it; part 1 and 2 can be accessed through the links above. Links within blockquotes were added during translation.

Hold on fast to the guidance of Marxism, promote the sinicisation, modernization, and popularization, use the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics to arm our minds, guide its implementation, promote work, and guarantee that the reform and development of culturekeep advancing on the correct path.
坚持以马克思主义为指导，推进马克思主义中国化时代化大众化，用中国特色社会主义理论体系武装头脑、指导实践、推动工作，确保文化改革发展沿着正确道路前进。

Maintain the progressive direction of advanced socialist culture, adhere to serving the people, to serve socialism, let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend1), adhere to the unity of inheritance and innovation, unfurl [or expand, 弘扬] the theme, promote diversity, arm people with scientific theory, guide the people by a correct public opinion, model the people by a lofty will, use excellent works to inspire the people, form a positive and upward spirit which pursues a healthy and civilized way of life.
坚持社会主义先进文化前进方向，坚持为人民服务、为社会主义服务，坚持百花齐放、百家争鸣，坚持继承和创新相统一，弘扬主旋律、提倡多样化，以科学的理论武装人，以正确的舆论引导人，以高尚的精神塑造人，以优秀的作品鼓舞人，在全社会形成积极向上的精神追求和健康文明的生活方式。

Maintain a people-oriented, close-to-reality, close-to-life, close-to-the-masses factor with the people playing a central role in building culture, adhere to cultural development for the people, cultural development leaning on the people, the fruits of cultural development for the common use of the people, promotion of comprehensive development, the cultivation of ideals, with citizens of virtue, culture, and discipline.
坚持以人为本，贴近实际、贴近生活、贴近群众，发挥人民在文化建设中的主体作用，坚持文化发展为了人民、文化发展依靠人民、文化发展成果由人民共享，促进人的全面发展，培育有理想、有道德、有文化、有纪律的社会主义公民。

Adhere to putting social efficiency2 first, maintain the organic unity between social and economic efficiency, abide by the law [or regular pattern, 规律] of cultural development, adapt to the socialist market economy’s requirements, strengthen the building of a cultural and legal system, manage to achieve prosperity as well as mastering management, promote the cause of culture and the cultural industry in comprehensive coordination, for sustainable development.
坚持把社会效益放在首位，坚持社会效益和经济效益有机统一，遵循文化发展规律，适应社会主义市场经济发展要求，加强文化法制建设，一手抓繁荣、一手抓管理，推动文化事业和文化产业全面协调可持续发展。

Maintain reform and opening, put forth efforts to the promotion of the cultural system’s mechanical innovation, use reforms to promote development, prosperity, incessantly liberate and develop the development of cultural productive power, increase the level of cultural openness, promote Chinese culture’s path toward the world, actively absorb outstanding civilizational achievements from all countries, and cogently defend the safety of national culture.
坚持改革开放，着力推进文化体制机制创新，以改革促发展、促繁荣，不断解放和发展文化生产力，提高文化开放水平，推动中华文化走向世界，积极吸收各国优秀文明成果，切实维护国家文化安全。

The first page of China Radio International’s (CRI) online publication ends here; the following link points to the CRI publication’s second page.

三、推进社会主义核心价值体系建设，巩固全党全国各族人民团结奋斗的共同思想道德基础

Socialist core values are the spirit [or soul] of the country’s rejuvenation, the essence of advanced socialist culture, and determine the direction of socialism with Chinese characteristics’ development. Guidance of education must be strengthened, consensus within society be furthered, innovative means ways and means, comprehensive protection of the system, and the system of core socialist values be blended into national education, the building of cultural and ideological progress [精神文明, also frequently translated as spiritual civilization – JR], and the complete process of building the party, [it needs to] penetrate every field of reform and opening and socialist modernization, materialize in the spirit and the creation of cultural products, and to spread into every field, [it is necessary to] adhere to the guidance of society’s ideological trends by the system of socialist core values, to form a unified ideology throughout the party and society, common ideals and beliefs, to strengthen the power of consciousness, and the basic moral [or virtuous] norms.

a) Adhere to the guiding position of Marxism. Marxism profoundly revealed the laws of human development, firmly safeguarded and developed the people’s fundamental interests, it guides people to promote society’s progress, and creates a good life’s scientific theory. We must unswervingly adhere to the fundamental theorems of Marxism, closely link China’s reality with the characteristics of our times, the wishes of the people, and by developing Marxism to guide into a new practice. Unremittingly persevere in the use of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics to arm the party, to educate the people, to promote the learning and practice of the scientific develoopment concept to be deepened and broadened, to guide the party members and cadres to to learn and to implement the party’s fundamental theories, fundamental line, principles, experiences, to learn the classical Marxist works, to systematically master the Marxist positions, views, and methods. Scientifically analyze the world situation, the country’s situation, the situation and changes of the party, closely study and solve the new problems of reform and opening and the construction and modernization of socialism, incessantly deepen the understanding of the party’s rule’s regular patterns, the regular patterns of socialist construction, the understanding of human society’s development’s regular patterns, and, at every moment, turn the experience of the party’s guidance in the people’s achievements into theory. Continuously bestow distinct practice and distinguished features, national characteristics, and characteristics of our times on Chinese Marxism. Adhere to the leading staff’s and leading cadres’ as the key for increasing the capacity for political accomplishments, by building the party as a model for the organization of skills, make all efforts to promote the learning of Marxism to shape the building of the party. Deepen and promote the process of Marxist theoretical research and construction, implement a universal plan for the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, strengthen the building of key scientific systems and teaching systems, promote the introduction of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics into teaching materials, into the classrooms, minds [or brains, 头脑], strengthen and improve ideological and political education in schools.

2)Social efficiency could be seen as an optimal allocation of resources, and there have been several initiatives or concepts outside China which advocated or discussed such concepts, but in the context of the CCP central committee decision, this article on Ezineseems to characterize the term quite neatly. However, I’m not implying that this is exactly what the decision wants to prescribe. Just do your own search of this term – 社会效益 – online, and let me know what you find. It is also possible that there is no clear-cut definition at all, as a document like the decision may need to satisfy more than one viewpoint within the politbureau’s standing committee.

Xinhua, October 13, 2011

Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao on Thursday summoned diplomatic envoys from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and urged the three nations to intensify their investigation of a deadly attack on Chinese ships that occurred on the Mekong River.

[…]

Song said China has urged the countries to take effective measures to strengthen the protection of Chinese ships and sailors on the Mekong River and its relevant waters and to avoid similar incidents from happening in the future.

–

chinanews.com / Huanqiu Shibao, October 30, 2011

chinanews.com (中新网), Oct 30. According to the Ministry of Public Security’s website, China will hold a conference with Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand, on cooperation in law enforcement and security on the Mekong River basin on October 31. The conference’s purpose was to thoroughly investigate the shootings of 13 Chinese crewmen, to establish a common system of law enforcement and security cooperation on the Mekong River, effectively safeguard maritime security order on the Mekong, and to guarantee the safety of the four countries’ vessels’ and crews’ lives and property.

The conference will carry out a set of bilateral and multilateral consultations concerning law enforcement and security cooperation in the Mekong River Basin, and a broad consensus on more joint law-enforcement patrols, jointly addressing emerging security problems, jointly fighting cross-border crime, and common replies to incidents is expected.